How NOT to Write a Story
by Stormshadow3
Summary: Inspired by some stuff I saw at the bookstore. The actual content may or may not be actually funny, but you will be interrupted at several points by pretentious author's notes. I apologize beforehand.
1. Descriptions of Our Great Protagonist

**This is the worst story, and possibly the weirdest to be ever told. Prepare to be amazed.**

 **I dunno why I did this. I was terribly bored. I might make this into a full story... Somehow...**

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Once upon a time, in the magical and wonderful land of the Clans, where warriors clashed in battle and the apprentices trained, day and night to be the very best, and the kits played all day in the light of the full sunshine, there was a she-cat. She stared into the puddle below her at her paws, formed by yesterday's rain.

Twilightshadow straightened her shoulders. Her dark midnight blue pelt, like the sky on a starry evening, shone in the sunlight and gleamed, showing off her pure white muzzle, as if a gentle layer of snow had befallen on her chest, the snowflakes dancing across her shining fur; her russet-colored belly was like the one of a fox itself, and she was just as deadly. Twilightshadow flexed her muscles, and her black tail, like the heart of obsidian, with the silver-flecked tip of it, which was flashing like the moon rising above the beautiful mountain peeks. There was a star-shaped indent, right on her forehead, and she beamed when she thought of it, her teeth shining each more deadly than the one next to it. The star was a rich, velvety purple, and there was also a frosting of pink on it, pink like the last dying glows of sunset. Twilightshadow's dark bracken golden paws pattered on the pathetic ground below. Her long ebony claws were aching to be unsheathed, and there were circle-like dark amber rings around her legs. Of course, amber, that was her favorite color. The color of fire. Her long, elegant whiskers twitched, and she saw her gorgeous ear markings, like auburn leaves dancing before a fireplace. Twilightshadow's eyes, oh, her eyes, were like cold ice blocks themselves, but large marbles at the same time, its gaze hypnotizing. They went round and round, and would chill you to the bone.

"Twilightshadow," there came a voice behind her.

"It's time for battle."


	2. Strange Omens and Memories

**Guess what? I'm making this into a full story... a full Mary-Sueish and cliche story, that is. Here continues the (great) adventures of Twilightshadow the Warrior Sue!**

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Chapter 1

Twilightshadow paused, anger filling her voice. "I already know. You are dismissed, lowly servant."

The small she-cat trembled. Twilightshadow was so hot, and so intimidating that it took a few moments for her words to even register in her brain. "Ye- Yes, master. You are the greatest assasin Warrior of them all." With that, she backed up a few paces and disappeared out of the den.

Twilightshadow huffed. Such low beings could not be in love with her... but she supposed she had to allow that for now, being so gorgeously beautiful and all. The moon shone down onto the ground below, and as she stepped out into the cold night air, a single beam of moonlight hit the spot where the star on her forehead was.

Suddenly, many shapes appeared before her, and she was surprised to find a countless number of starry cats surrounding her. "What have you come for?" she asked boldly, for she knew that they must have come for something important. Or someone.

One especially beautiful snow-white she-cat with a moon symbol on her forehead stepped forward with an equally attractive obsidian-black tom with a fiery sun emblem on his. "The sun and the moon will give birth to the star that will save all from relentless destruction," they said in unison.

Twilightshadow was deeply confused. "But... who are the sun and the moon? How can celestial bodies give birth? How can stars do anything? Wait! Don't leave!"

But the cats began fading, and before long, she was left staring at blank nothingness.

Those two cats looked familiar somehow, like relatives... she shook her head. No, her parents were dead and gone long ago, and she had no one else to lean on but herself. She must do this and find out what the prophecy meant for the good of all.


	3. Death and Rage

**This is really fun to write, just to let you know.**

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Chapter 2

Twilightshadow let out a deep breath, not realizing she was holding it the whole time. It unsettled her. Usually, nothing could ever intimidate her. Unless something powerful and evil really was brewing on the horizon...

The thought almost scared her. She had never faced true evil before, and what would become of her poor clanmates? But first, there were matters to be taken care of. DawnClan was being threatened by EveningClan again, and they must not succeed!

Her heart leapt as she approached what would become a bloody battlefield. Her ranks stood on the thickly forested side of the territories, while EveningClan perched on the barren emptiness of the Place of the Broken Twoleg Nests. "Lightstar!" Twilightshadow exclaimed as she padded to her leader. "There are so many of them, and so little of us!"

The old cat sighed, and his bones creaked. "My most faithful senior warrior, there are sacrifices to be made from all of us."

Suddenly, a shadow flew over the crowd of standing DawnClan cats, and the leader toppled backwards. Several cats, pelts as dark as the evening shadows which they were named for and eyes with gleaming hatred pinned him down, claws digging into his flesh. He screamed, but every other cat was crouched back, eyes wide open with fear.

Twilightshadow could not stand it any more. Screeching, she unsheathed her ready claws and pounced onto the pile of writhing bodies. The EveningClan cats fell away, and soon they ran, scattering as they went. But it was too late. Twilightshadow watched helplessly as Lightstar groaned, blood dripping out of various cuts and scratches on his pelt.

"Twilightshadow-" he wanted to tell her this for a long time, but he could never find the words for it. "I fear I will not be here for much longer- the wounds, they are hurting me too much, but I need to say this." He paused. "I love you."

Every single DawnClan cat gasped in astonishment. But he was not done yet. "However, it is with much urgency that I must say-"

Twilightshadow waited. But his brilliant emerald-green eyes rolled back into his head, and the life seemed to drain out of him. Because it was, and there was nothing anyone could do to prevent this tragedy.

Twilightshadow was seething with anger. "I will kill you all!" she roared to the evil EveningClan cats.

They just laughed. What could a pretty little she-cat like her, who wasn't even a deputy and had such a weak leader do?

Little did they know, she was much more powerful than they took her for.

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 **I hate the "Little Did They Know" type of storytelling.**


	4. Fighting and Cheering

**I'm sorry for the long wait. Holiday and stuff.**

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Chapter 3

Twilightshadow was mad. Blood pounded in her ears like water crashing against the cliffs, their waves washing over bare earth and sand. "Excuse me?" she roared. "I am NOT weak!" Several of the smarter EveningClan cats back away, muttering nervously.

But the mighty young warrior was not finished yet, oh no! She unsheathed her claws, their deadly silver sheam glowing in the approaching shadows and reared up so that she was almost towering directly over them.

Suddenly, what must have been one of the EveningClan apprentices lost his nerves and wheeled around, screaming "RUN!" just as he sped away between the various cats in the crowd.

Twilightshadow took advantage of this moment of confusion to pounce on the rest of their evil enemies. EveningClan scattered, many with long scratches on their sides and deep, gashing wounds. She smiled. Her clan was safe now!

DawnClan and Lightstar's deputy, Fieryclaws paced forward a few steps to stand beside Twilightshadow. "I will take over from now," he said, but even as he said the words, he was disappointed to find out that there were no more enemies to destroy.

They had all scattered; such was Twilightshadow's might and will.

Fieryclaws could not help but stare at her. She was merely a new warrior, but she has the strength of a dozen StarClan cats! But he knew that she was the single greatest threat to his leadership, and that something had to be done about her. "Good job," he said.

Twilightshadow flashed him one of her famous smiles. Her perfect teeth gleamed with a special light, and her neck twisted around just so that she could look him in the eyes. "I am sure you expected nothing less from me."

Fieryclaws tried not to look at how absolutely gorgeous she was. "DawnClan! Gather!" he shouted.

Slowly but surely, the messily organized rag-tag group of cats began to reform, until they all sat in a half-circle around him. Fieryclaws leaped up onto a large boulder just beside him, and lifted up his head high.

"Since Lightstar was killed by those heartless ruffians," he announced, "I will now be the leader. I will go to the Moonstone tonight and claim my nine lives from StarClan!"

Everyone pretended to cheer loudly for him. Fieryclaws was known around the clan as a short-tempered tom who always liked to have his way. But they had no choice! The warrior code demanded it, and after all, he was Lightstar's deputy. What is the worst that can happen?


	5. Darkness and Pursuit

**Happy New Year, everyone!**

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Chapter 4

Twilightshadow watched as her clanmates' cheers for Fieryclaws began dying down. When the clearing was silent once more, he yowled, "It's time to get back to our rightful homeland!"

Through the thick, intertwining crowd of cats, a noticeably ugly she-cat padded up to her. Instead of Twilightshadow's sparkling, shining dark midnight blue pelt, she had brown fur that looked almost like rained-on mud. "M-my lord," she began.

Twilightshadow's eyes gleamed with amusement. "You may just call me by my real name, Twigmuzzle," she purred. "Friends have no need for such formality."

Was it her imagination, or did Twigmuzzle seem to loosen up and relax a bit? "Y-yes, Twilightshadow, you great warrior," she complimented, her voice shaking. "That was some excellent fighting back there."

"Yes, indeed," Twilightshadow answered with glee. "Those evil EveningClan cats will never bother us ever again!"

Suddenly, a large shadow darted away in the corner of her left eye, and she turned around adruptly, her long but flashingly beautiful ebony claws unsheathing. "Fieryclaws," she growled. "What is it that you have to talk to me about?"

The new leader seemed offended by this retort. "I'm just saying hi to you," he replied. "I'll be taking Silentfoot, our medicine cat with me to the Moonstone soon."

He glanced around as an old, wise-looking and weather-hardened she-cat stepped forward among the ranks of various cats. "I am ready when you are," she meowed, "and I can safely assume that you are already, hm?"

"Yes, dear," Fieryclaws quickly answered, his eyes crossing in bliss. "You look absolutely gorgeous tonight." He waved his tail apologetically at Twilightshadow as they padded away together, the twilight sun shining on their intervened tails. If she didn't know better, then she would have thought they were long-destined mates.

But Twilightshadow just growled, flexing her muscles and repeatedly sheathing and unsheathing her claws. Twigmuzzle took a step back warily, eyeing the scene with caution. "My friend, it is fine. Please do not stress over this."

"I am NOT worried about that good-for-nothing rascal," she just snarled. "I am worried about him negotiating with Silentfoot, my one and only best friend."

Twigmuzzle tried not to get her feelings hurt too badly. Of course Twilightshadow wouldn't really consider her as a friend! They were polar opposites, anyway.

Twilightshadow, however, had other, darker reasons for worrying about the soon-to-be troublesome pair. She paced around the empty clearing desperately. She had never felt this way before. Something told her that them going to the Moonstone was a dangerous idea. She didn't know why. What could possibly happen?

But she knew that her instincts were right, as they always were, and she bunched up her muscles. "Goodbye, Twiggie," she meowed, cold certainty filling her voice. "I'm going after them, and there's nothing you can say or do to stop me."

Twigmuzzle lowered her head, yet as she watched Twilightshadow pad away into the bushes and surrounding heather, there was only one thought in her head.

She probably wouldn't succeed, but she could try, by all means.


	6. Trekking and Nasty Surprises

**I need to update, shoot. Coming up: the adventures of Twigmuzzle!**

 **Not really. But still. This chapter's gonna be her stalking- I mean, chasing Twilightshadow to the Moonstone.**

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Chapter 5

Twigmuzzle began following Twilightshadow through the long grass that surrounded the well-worn track to the Moonstone. Of course, Twilightshadow had been trained by the best of warriors to check every scent and listen for any signs or clues, but this time, she was so intent on chasing Fieryclaws and Silentfoot that she did not notice anything strange.

 **Good! Now the adventures of Twigmuzzle may continue! :D**

Twigmuzzle, on the other hand, was clumsy and hardly trained, but she was also very light and was able to keep following her idol without being called out. They trekked through large plains and grasslands where the cows and horses and sheep roamed. They traveled through thick undergrowth. They jumped over fallen logs and climbed under towering trees. One time, she even had to scale over a Twoleg fence. Those pesky things! she thought.

Soon, they could see a large, prominent rock shape looming up before them. The cave that contained the Moonstone, a large hole built in the mountainsides of the End of the Daylight and Night. Twigmuzzle always shivered when she thought of the mountain's name. It sounded very scary for her indeed.

Twilightshadow, however, had no such worries. She ducked her head under the cave entrance, and slowly, carefully, she began making her way through the tunnel. Strange, she thought, as she had never been to the Moonstone before. It's so quiet here... I wonder if I have gone to the wrong place!

Neverless, the train of cats continued on. Twigmuzzle tripped and got cuts all over the paws from the sharp rocks that jutted out of the ground like spikes, but she still managed to keep up with Twilightshadow. When she thought that she would never see daylight ever again, there was light.

She squinted. Light, coming from a single drop of what looked like crystal water in the center of the cave. It looked like diamond, so pure and sparkling and gleaming...

It fizzled for a few moments before flashing out. Twigmuzzle gasped. There was Fieryclaws and Silentfoot... wait, they were nowhere to be seen, actually.

The Moonstone had gone to nothing more than stone.


	7. Surprise and Names

**Check out my other stories! Like Song of the Shadows: Losing Myself (complete) and Hymn of the River: Finding Truth, which is currently in progress as of February 2, 2017.**

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Chapter 6

Twilightshadow's growl fainted away into nothingness. "What is the meaning of this?"

Behind her, Twigmuzzle stopped. "My lord... I know I'm not supposed to be here right now, but I think I know what is going on."

Twilightshadow's violet, multi-color, flashing eyes gleamed in the darkness. "Let me guess. The Dark Forest has come and aided the evil EveningClan somehow, in some way so that our connection to StarClan is muted. Those mangy fox-hearts! I'll show them what I'm made up of!"

Twigmuzzle's face fell. "Oh, that's... even worse than I had imagined. I thought StarClan just wanted to hide their faces from Fieryclaws, because, well... they don't want to give them his nine lives or something."

"That's where you're mistaken, old friend," Twilightshadow purred gleefully, and then stopped as she remembered the gravity of the situation. "Right. This is serious, and we shall deal with problems like these as such. First, listen to me."

Twigmuzzle perked up her skinny, half-ripped ear in attention. That ear had lost many battles against many a clawing. "The first thing we should do is make sure that Silentfoot is all right- and Fieryclaws, too, even though I don't personally care for him," Twilightshadow sniffed.

She wasn't sure if it were true, actually; a tom that hot and so attractive and strong must be meant for a warrior companion like her.

Twigmuzzle raised her paw slightly above the ground in question. "Wait... where did they go, anyway?"

"I don't know! That's why we have the Quest, dummy!" Twilightshadow hissed, her voice hard. When her tiny friend edged away, whimpering, she realized that she looked quite formidable- and hot- and leaned backwards, satisfied with herself. "Sorry for that. Just need to let my anger out."

Twigmuzzle stared. "That was... very scary, mistress." She still had not gotten over my name, Twilightshadow thought, sighing internally. "Let's begin on this Quest that you are talking about. What shall we call it? The quest for FieryFoot? You know, for both of the cats..."

Twilightshadow swatted her ear in irritation. "Quiet!" she barked. "They are NOT mates!"


	8. Shortness and Meetings

**Great gods, I didn't update in so long. (I mostly updated because SOMEONE unfollowed... heh.)**

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The Extremely Short Chapter 7

Twilightshadow began padding out of the Moonstone cave entrance, head held high, Twigmuzzle beside her.

"First," she decided, "we need to run all the way back to the clan and tell everyone... because they need to know about this." She gave a sideways glance toward Twigmuzzle. "But you can stay here. The run will hurt you legs and sprain all your ankles and that won't be good."

Twigmuzzle sighed, watching as Twilightshadow bounded off for the distant horizon.

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The clan was already up in a turmoil about something when the great warrior assassin finally arrived in the camp.

Oh, right, she remembered. They had no leader and no medicine cat. Boo hoo. Finding the Meeting Rock which she had always wanted to stand upon, she shimmied up it in a few swift bounds and raised her head up high. "Everyone, attention!" she declared.

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 **Sorry for the short chapter, just wanted to make sure no one unfollowed again.**


	9. Explanations and Evil

**I was just about to forget this story once again. Sowee!**

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Chapter 8

Twilightshadow raised her head high. "It has come to our attention that our new leader-" she spat out the last word like it was venom- "has perhaps... brewed up trouble for Silentfoot. But that is not all."

Below her, the crowd was ooing and ahhing to the sound of her voice. Only some were actually listening. The rest were enchanted by her magical spell of words.

"When I went to the Moonstone to sort this whole mystery out," Twilightshadow continued explaining, "I was greeted with a terrible, horrible sight: the death of the very piece of stone that connects the living world to StarClan. Without it... we are doomed, and especially with Fieryfoot and EveningClan these days..."

There was absolute silence.

Until someone finally spoke up.

"Let me take a moment to explain," a familiar voice piped up from the back of the large crowd. Twilightshadow gasped. It was a reddish-brown tom, with bulky shoulders and a large, _handsome_ frame. "It must be said that not all is as it appears."

"Fieryfoot?" Twilightshadow growled, anger filling her voice. "I know what you did. Where is... where is Silentfoot? If you harmed her or interacted with her in any shape or form, you will be dead to me. Then, you will actually _be_ dead." Her claws unsheathed.

The crowd was silent. Most of them liked Twilightshadow, except for the darkest of villains, but now, Fieryfoot was the one speaking. "My name is Fierystar now," he sneered. "StarClan gave me my new name and nine lives long before you arrived."

Twilightshadow was still. Her teeth were still itching themselves to be sunk into flesh, but somehow, she held back. "I did not see you there," she replied, trying not to sound perplexed, not that she was actually perplexed.

Fierystar smiled, one that had none of its former handsomeness but now held nothing but pure evil. "Get her," he spat out. "She is a prisoner now. Banish this disgrace to the Land of the Bound Souls. I will discuss what will happen to her later."


	10. Caves and Infinity

**It's been seven days...? *blinks***

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Chapter 9

It was absolutely horrid in the Land of the Bound Souls.

No words could describe the horror and trauma that Twilightshadow, once a fierce warrior princess she-cat, experienced as she was hauled through the camp clearing to where a giant, gaping tunnel entrance lay beyond- one that she had never once seen before.

"What is this?" she exclaimed, trying to break free of the guards that flanked her on both sides. Dear reader, you must excuse our great protagonist and hero for not being able to suppress the evil... but the truth was, she was too tired to really fight back.

Soon, they entered the darkness of the mouth of the tunnel.

Only the glinting eyes of Twilightshadow and the dull gleam of the guard's could be seen through the forbidding darkness. Twilightshadow almost felt like crying, which she had never done before, even as a very small but powerful kit. She had _failed_.

She began monologuing in her deep, black, inner pits of sadness and despair.

Twilightshadow had failed to run fast enough to the Moonstone so she could stop the evil of Fieryclaws- now Fierystar because of her. She could not find Silentfoot anywhere, even if she was right in the camp at the moment... and her pitiful friend, Twigmuzzle, was stuck back at the entrance to the Moonstone.

That poor, lonely she-cat. Twilightshadow thought that she must be standing there, afraid for her powerful ally and friend and perhaps in danger herself. Twilightshadow was right, of course, as she almost always usually was.

Her monologue was cut short as the guards suddenly pushed her forward. Suppressing a weak-sounding cry of shock, Twilightshadow managed to balance herself up just in time to avoid falling flat on her face, which would have been a very embarrassing deed for a ferocious warrior assassin queen.

"Ha ha ha!" the guards laughed cruelly, bending over with amusement.

Twilightshadow unsheathed her claws, but the guards just kept laughing until they saw the sheer length and sharpness of them. Slowly, they stopped, staring at her weapons of rage and her snarling face, so deadly and so beautiful.

Unfortunately for Twilightshadow, but very fortunately for the guards, one of them was so intimidated that he backed out of the cave entrance, motioning with his tail for his friends to follow. "Come on!" he said frantically.

The guards soon trailed after their leading friend like lost puppies, which they might as well be.

Before Twilightshadow had a chance to stand up, brush the dust off of her fur, and run out of the horrible cave, the few pinpoints of light that had found their way inside disappeared, and all of a sudden, Twilightshadow was alone in the dark.

Forever, she thought.

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Please forgive our great female protagonist a chance. She has been through so much, and lost so much, and there are moments in life when you cannot seem to succeed at anything. Twilightshadow is like that, too, however great she is.

Please do not stop reading this story because she appears to be failing, losing to the dark side. She needs you to get back to the light.

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 **I think this is my most cringe-worthy chapter so far.**


	11. Spirits and Prophecies

**I update regardless of whether I want to update. This is not one of those times, so don't blame me if I seem to poof from this story... you'll know that I'm still active by my forum (the link to it is on my profile) and my other (more serious) stories.**

 **Enough advertising. Let's get on with our lives.**

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Chapter 10

"Oh no!" Twilightshadow sobbed, crying sadly into her own beautiful long, fluffy midnight-blue fur, which now hung limp and dejected. "What am I supposed to do now...? It's so dark in here, I can't even look to fight if an enemy appears in here..."

She raised her head just a bit to see the depressing state of her life. So much darkness, engulfing the light. She thought she saw a flicker, a pin-point of something glowing in the Land of the Bound Souls, but that couldn't be possible.

Could it?

Suddenly, the brave but now hopeless warrior assassin gasped as she saw the distinct form of... something in front of her. What was it? It looked sort of like a frog, but... as the image became clearer and clearer in front of her, she realized that it was a cat.

"Help me!" she cried. "I have lost all hope! Please, help me, whoever you are, if you have a kind and honorable spirit!"

Soon, she realized something incredulous- as Twilightshadow focused her eyes on the now-appearing snow-white she-cat that was in front of her. But no matter how she strained herself to see, the edges of the she-cat was still blurry. She _was_ a spirit.

"Hello, Twilightshadow," the she-spirit murmured. "My name is Moonsong. I represent everything that is good. I am honor, purity, charity, valor, and much more. I wish I can help you, but I am as helpless as you. I can only appear for long enough to pass on this message to you-" she paused before continuing.

"The sun and the moon will give birth to the star that will save all from relentless destruction," Moonsong rasped. "That is all."

Slowly, anger began to bubble inside of Twilightshadow's mind and heart. "That's the same prophecy that you gave me that day of the fateful battle against EveningClan!" she hissed. "What use is there in giving me a repeating omen?"

"The meaning will be clear to you in time," Moonsong sighed, slowly disappearing from view as her image began to fade. "Just be confident, brave, and above all, be the cat that you are..." **Because Mary-Sues never fail.**

Just as she dissipated altogether, a panicked shout rang from outside the Land of the Bound Souls, and it was coming from the DawnClan nursery, it seemed to Twilightshadow with her superb hearing- "Bloodfang is giving birth! She can't take it! She's going to _die_!"

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 **Put in the reviews what you think would happen next!**


	12. Birth and Listening

**The usual author's note, complaining about how time flies so fast, and how slow updates are, and complaining about forum stuff and stuff about other stories, blah, blah, blah. Bleh.**

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Chapter 11

Twilightshadow didn't know what she was doing. The only thing she remembered was throwing herself against the entrance to the Land of the Bound Souls and screaming at the top of her voice, in a masculine sort of tone, "What's happening! LET ME OUT! NOW! I command it!"

However, even though she was a beautiful hot warrior assassin princess queen, and she would always be despite her locations, everything was too preoccupied with doing whatever pointless thing they were doing outside to care about the rightness of letting Twilightshadow out.

Soon, however, a blood-curdling screech split the air.

"Bloodfang is losing blood!" ***snorts*** Twilightshadow heard a desperate she-cat's voice crying. "I cannot let her die! She must live! I see... oh, I see a kit! Hold on, Bloodfang... just one more moment..."

She paused. "It's a tom, Bloodfang! Be proud! Let me just see if there are any other kits..."

Silence. Twilightshadow pressed her ear to the iron entrance, even though she didn't need to do that to hear the commotion going on outside, but for some reason she felt... scared of the dark. Not of the dark specifically, but of what might be lurking in its shadows.

"No more kits?" a new voice spoke out weakly, probably Bloodfang's.

The other she-cat nodded. "No more. It's a beautiful deep blue tom. I know he would grow up to be a fine warrior. If only his father could have lived to see his son being born..." she sighed. "What shall you name your kit?"

Bloodfang did not even hesitate. "Starkit," she breathed. "For all great heroes need great names. I assure you, he will grow up to be a _fine warrior_ indeed."


	13. Chosen Ones and Monsters

**Just one thing before I begin the next chapter: I won't be on at all the next week, because I would have my spring break and I would be out in Utah and Nevada for vacation and stuff :3 (I need to start seeing places besides California)**

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Chapter 12

Twilightshadow's heart almost stopped beating for a moment.

"What? How is this possible?" she whispered to herself, her mind spinning with possibilities of what this catastrophe might mean for the future. "How? How could a low-ranked, simple-minded queen have a kit with the name of Starkit? That is not possible!"

There was a scuffling outside. Then, something creaked near the entrance to the Land of the Bound Souls, and Twilightshadow merely stepped back in surprise, nothing resembling a startled expression on her face as the boulder shifted, light filtered in, and a she-cat's face peered in.

"I have been commanded to bring you outside to see the new kit," the she-cat started, shifting her paws uncomfortably on the stone floor. "Please come with me."

Strange, Twilightshadow thought as she stepped outside. What would be a reason to bring a dangerous prisoner like her to see a newborn kit, who was obviously supposed to be _important_? Or maybe they wanted Starkit dead after all or something... she unsheathed her claws uncertainly.

She didn't want to have to kill a helpless kit, even if that kit was the kit she despised most in the whole world.

Twilightshadow's eyes took some time to adjust to the dim light outside- clearly, night was falling fast. She could see a blurred face among the crowds that stared at her blankly that vaguely resembled Fierystar, but before she could have time to dwell on that, the she-cat shoved her from behind.

The brave warrior assassin didn't even stumble: instead, she regained her balance halfway in the fall and stood up gracefully on all fours.

"Let it begin!" an all-too familiar voice boomed out from behind. "The might Twilightshadow... with nothing on her side but her extremely sharp wits and claws... versus Starkit, the only kit known alive to be gifted by StarClan itself in all its great forms!"

What is he talking about? Twilightshadow thought in irritation. What StarClan's gift? That didn't make any sense. Unless... unless he truly was the special one spoken of in the prophecy...

She heard a voice from behind. Turning around, she almost screamed.

* * *

 **Cliffie for the week! I love them!**


	14. Roars and Quests

**I came back earlier than expected! That's a good thing. Probably. But anyway, here I can finally torture you with more of this story.**

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Chapter 13

Twilightshadow gaped.

She had never thought this was possible before. What? How? But what stood before her was not a feeble kit, lying on the dusty ground helplessly, but... a rather tiny, but ferocious-looking monster! With wings spread many tail-lengths apart and glowing eyes, it was a terrifying sight to behold.

Let me clarify that again: its wings were wider than any bird's, its eyes were gleaming golden, it had a long tail with a barb on its end, it had clawed feet with white fur on the top, and its small body was covered in shaggy white fur except for a few pink spots where it had fell out.

"So..." Twilightshadow regained her calm by breathing in and out continuously and standing her ground stubbornly. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Fight it," Fierystar said with an amused glow in his warm, _ever so handsome_ amber eyes. "I would love to see what happens. Really. I suppose it will be an interesting match: a monstrous, day-old kit versus Twilightshadow, a great warrior assassin queen! **I am starting to hate her title.** "

He smiled. "Even she can't best a beast like this."

The tiny terror with the name of Starkit **that actually fits!** roared, flapping his wings wildly. Cats began to spread out from the center of the clearing, looking at both the contestants nervously. Twilightshadow unsheathed her claws, narrowing her eyes. Now _this_ was something she wasn't afraid to use her power on.

Or even kill. That brought her to another thought. She looked up at the current DawnClan leader. "Do we have to kill each other in order to win?"

Fierystar nodded with a grim satisfaction. "It's a fight to the death. Finally, we will see who is more fit to live in this clan- I will release you to become an honored warrior again, Twilightshadow, if you somehow win this impossible battle. If Starkit wins... then, well." He paused. "Bloodfang wouldn't mind, I'm sure."

From the back of the crowd, a voice screeched out in protest, but it was soon muffled by what sounded like fur.

Twilightshadow stared. Right... there was still the mother to worry about. She looked up at Starkit again, and saw not only a monstrous terror, but... a son. How could she do this now? But it was either him or her that would rise triumphant, and- **JUST start already!**

Fierystar interrupted her thoughts with a loud scratch of his claws on sandy earth combined with rock. "Let us begin!"

Twilightshadow leaped at Starkit the first moment she could get! She was all too ready for this. Even though Starkit was ferocious-looking, he was still not match for the mighty warrior assassin queen **what happened to the mighty warrior assassin princess?**. In a few moments, he was down, pinned.

The crowd murmured their disapproval. They had expected a more interesting match. But just then-

Something flashed in front of Twilightshadow's eyes that soon faded to darkness, and she could only stare as Starkit rose up on all fours, no longer pinned down, black mist floating around him ominously. **Um.** But then, just as Twilightshadow prepared to attack yet again...

There was suddenly a cat floating in the air before her. She stared. It was tom, and he had long, black fur with a white tip on the end of his tail like snow. There was a sun emblem on his forehead, and glowing amber eyes that looked a thousand times brighter than the stars! "I am **your father** Sunpower."

 **That makes me think of solar companies. Mostly failed ones.**

The words echoed around the clearing. The bottom of Twilightshadow's belly suddenly formed a tight knot. "You're the one that helped Moonsong deliver the prophecy to me," she croaked, much unlike her normal self, for she was awe-stricken at that moment. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to conquer all and destroy all that stand in my path," Sunpower roared. "I do not stand with the _weak_ anymore."

"My mate..." there was a small voice in Twilightshadow's mind. "How could he dare do such evil things? But he was so charming when I first met him..." It was Moonsong. "But I have a solution. Go find the ten stars of destiny! They are made of ruby, gold, emerald, diamond, sugilite, bronze, obsidian, silver, soil, and sand. ***shakes head*** "

 **I think I'm going to make a game about this sometime, heh.**

Twilightshadow's head was spinning. "I see," she whispered. Ignoring the triumphant roars and screams behind her, she dashed through the crowd, pushing and shoving, until she finally came to the camp entrance, where she bolted through, thinking about her new quest.

* * *

 **...**


	15. Fire and Fire and Fire and Fire

**I'm going to update all my stories slower now, now that I'm also writing another book on top of everything (1,000 words a day), so just- *is interrupted by Clean Bandit on YouTube).**

 **- _and now your song is on repeat, and I'm dancing on to your heartbeat; and when you're gone, I feel incomplete, so if you want the truth..._**

* * *

Chapter 14

Twilightshadow kept running, regardless of the wind blowing all around her and the voice in her head- voice? Huh? She paused, glancing back at the camp. It could not even be seen now. But the voice...

"Twilightshadow, my dear child," it whispered. "I will lead you along your first quest: the Quest for the Fire Ruby. But I am getting weaker by the moment... so I cannot stay with you for long. However, I do have power enough to send you to the Land of Imagination, where the ten stones lie."

The might warrior assassin queen sucked in a breath, much unlike what her normal self would have done. "That's great!" she commented. "Can we go now?"

Twilightshadow couldn't see it, of course, but she felt like Moonsong just winked- inside her own head? "Of course, impatient young one," she purred. "Just give me a moment... I haven't done this in countless moons..."

Suddenly, Twilightshadow gasped! "I can't see!" she shouted, but just a moment later, she blinked again and... her vision was clear. What was that all about? she thought, before she looked up.

To see a wall of lava rushing towards her.

* * *

 **Too short of a chapter, but I don't care.**


	16. Stones and the Fire Ruby

**I'll be updating this quicker now (and speeding up the content), I promise, about one chapter a day.**

 **Since I just finished my other fanfic and I want to finish this one quickly SO I can start a cool new idea for a story SO I can start the sequel to that finished fanfic (which is actually the sequel of another fanfic) so I can finally do that gift fanfic for one of my best friends.**

 **MY PROMISES, hah. They mean nothing to me. no one heard that right. right.**

* * *

Chapter 15

Twilightshadow, never one to resort to actual screaming, ninja-ducked out of the way as the huge wall of fire passed right through the space where she had been a moment before. She blinked, and almost started whimpering, but of course she didn't. This land was sheer chaos.

There was a steaming, lava-filled volcano to the front of her... the ground was made up of cracked, dry dirt... random balls of fire were hurtling through the air, and sometimes streaking down to the earth like small fiery comets... a clouded sky... "How am I supposed to find the Fire Ruby in all this?" she wondered aloud.

Suddenly, as if to answer her unanswerable question, something caught her eye. Turning her head around, squinting, Twilightshadow could almost swear that she saw something- or someone- move near that small dirt hill... moving closer, closer, and then her blood ran cold-

"I, the evil tyrant Thunderlight," a chilling voice cackled from somewhere _inside_ the dirt hill, "the noble servant of Sunpower... am, alas, nothing without the Fire Ruby- and we have finally found it!" Thunderlight laughed. "Finally safe from that goody little Twilightshadow!"

Twilightshadow gasped. The laughter suddenly stopped from within. "Who was that?" Thunderlight croaked, the cheery tone gone from his voice. "Guards, check outside. If there's anyone, then _seize them_!"

Before Twilightshadow could think of what to do, three muscular toms appeared seemingly out of nowhere, eyeing Twilightshadow with a malicious glint in their eyes and shoving her towards the dirt hill- she tried to fight back- but a few moments later... when she blinked, she saw-

"How does this all fit into a single dirt hill?" she gasped with wonder and horror. It was a huge palace that she was now in, stretching the limits of what she thought was possible- and there were so many cats around, too, Thunderlight himself, the guards positioned all around him, the others-

"Stop this cruelty!" Twilightshadow commanded, staring down at a wide expanse below in the lower section of the palace where many cats were at work, carrying sticks, stones, and pebbles in their mouths to build onto what seemed like a huge tower.

Thunderlight cackled evilly. "It is already too late." His menacing smile grew even wider. "I see that this is a lucky day! One worthy opponent captured, the Fire Ruby found. Before we kill Twilightshadow..." He paused. "Clawtooth, please tell dear Twilightshadow how we accomplished this amazing task."

"See," the sheer black tom near the might warrior assassin queen sneered, "after we traveled far and wide in this bleak land, we came to where a small group of cats, FireClan, resided. We captured the members and put them to work, obviously." He snickered.

"The leader, Lavastar, obviously knew something important about the location of the Fire Ruby, so we, eh, persuaded him to give us information." Clawtooth unsheathed his claws. "It turned out that he had an important item, a magical stone that, with a single touch, would transport you to a secret cave."

"The cave was filled up with lava, of course, and we only had a small section of rock to stand on once we followed his directions." Clawtooth gestured with his tail to the small round pebble near his paw. "It was quite..." he paused. "Difficult, to get to the Fire Ruby, but we did, and that is our story."

Twilightshadow gaped. But something else was occurring to her. "Where is the Fire Ruby, then?" she asked.

Thunderlight moved aside to let her see the red gemstone that lay on the plain ground. "There," he snickered.

"I thought it would at least look more magnificent," Twilightshadow commented, moving closer and closer to the stone that Clawtooth was not paying any attention to. Her paw touched the edge of the smooth, surprisingly cold surface and-

She blinked, looking down. Stone. There was a low level of lava bubbling around her, but she hardly noticed as she looked up- a small strange-shaped indentation in the ceiling above. This must be where they got that Fire Ruby from... feeling slightly disappointed, she looked down again and saw-

Twilightshadow gasped. She must be seeing things! But right near the bottom of the pool of lava was... something shining. Fearing the worst, she edged as close to the lava as she dared before...

She tripped. Yowling, she unsheathed her claws, trying to get a hold on the rock, but the slippery surface refused to cooperate with her. "Help!" she cried uselessly, much unlike her own fearless self, but if you are falling into a pool of lava, you would probably do more than cry for help...

Feeling liquid touch the edge of her hind paw, Twilightshadow prepared for the end, the searing pain and the unbearable humiliation. **So don't chase after shiny things, kids.** But just then... as she was sure that she was about to disintegrate in the heat or something-

Twilightshadow looked around. This must be StarClan, she thought. But why was there a reddish tinge to everything, then? She couldn't be in the lava... she would be dead... but feeling the submerged part of the rock that she stood on before, she suddenly saw that unignorable shine again...

"The real Fire Ruby," she choked, feeling it with her paw. _Well done_ , said a voice inside her head. _Only those noble and worthy are able to dive into the lava and come out unharmed with the jewel. The lava is enchanted. Now, when you disappear into the next world, the Fire Ruby will become part of you..._

 _Giving you powers..._

Darkness engulfed Twilightshadow's vision, and she was smiling. Off to the next world she went.

* * *

 **So, each world is going to be one chapter. I don't have time to make them full adventures.**


	17. Tribes and Trickery

**Like I said, quick updates here and there are going to be my thing now!**

* * *

Chapter 16

Twilightshadow sucked in a breath, feeling dimensions and worlds whirl past her. She tried to concentrate on just one thing to not get too dizzy, and almost burned herself up into crisps.

"Oh my!" she gasped, seeing the flames suddenly appear from her front and hind paws... but for some reason, they didn't scorch her at all. Twilightshadow frowned. It must be the powers that had come from the Fire Ruby... the power to summon fire? **Wow, who would have thought?**

Suddenly, she stopped, her blood turning cold. "Stop, flames!" she commanded, seeing a jungle begin to replace the blackness in front of her vision... "Stop burning!" Like on cue, the fire began to slow down, flickering and spitting for a few more moments before ceasing altogether.

She sighed in relief, looking around at her surroundings. It was really different from the types of forests that she was used to. Instead of shorter oak and birch trees, these were tall and intimidating to those not used to them. The air was wet and moist, and she could almost lick the water right off the thick fog.

Twilightshadow didn't know where to even start looking for the Emerald Fern, so she kept walking. Soon, she was hot and in need of a lot of water- and some prey, too, preferably. However, she was not used to the types of prey that might live in this area, so instead of stopping to hunt, she continued padding on.

She didn't know how long she trekked for. But she did know that she paused when she started hearing whispering. It wasn't the rustle of leaves in the slight breeze, or the calling of birds to one another far above on the forest canopy. It was _cat whispering._

Twilightshadow couldn't understand their language, really, but since she was a stubborn warrior assassin queen who had a remarkably high intelligence, she managed too decipher some of the words that they were repeating **only by hearing? That's not possible** \- Emerald Fern, something about a tribe-

"Do you need my help?" Twilightshadow asked mildly, appearing out of the bushes to where two cats, a tom and a she-cat, were talking.

They stared. Not able to understand Twilightshadow's language of the clans, they just looked at each other in confusion. She almost expected them to start attacking, for that was what _clans_ did to intruders, but instead they just turned around, bounding away. There was a rustle of branches and leaves, and-

"Wait!" Twilightshadow hopped after them. She had to find out as much as she could. "Hold on!"

She kept up as much as she could, but even with her superb agility and tracking abilities, the two still kept far ahead. When she began to hear voices again, and not from the two tribe cats ahead, she paused, peeking out from behind a large fig tree.

"Oh no!" Twilightshadow gasped. The tribe cats were clearly being attacked by another tribe! Or... maybe not another tribe after all. There were clearly two groups in the clearing in front of her: one were the sleek cats of the rainforest tribe, and the other were the large, muscle-bound cats of... Sunpower?

These must be cats like Thunderlight who are also after the Emerald Fern, she decided. But before she could take another step-

"Oh, look what we've got here," a mocking voice sounded in front of her. Twilightshadow spun around, gasping. "I'm just-" she fumbled for a right excuse- "spectating!"

The large she-cat in front of her laughed. "Oh? Well, in that case, let me introduce myself. My name is Toothfire **uhhh** , and I am a loyal subject of lord Sunpower." She smiled broadly. "I'm afraid that I will have to drag you over with the other new servants we have now... and we'll interrogate them..."

Toothfire grinned. "In case they know something about the Emerald Fern. Do you?" she added.

"N-" Twilightshadow paused. "Yes," she finally replied. "Yes, I do know something about the Emerald Fern. It is all the way on the other side of the mountains! Over there!" She gestured with her tail into the mist.

Toothfire gasped. **Stupid minions.** "Of course! We should have thought of this before!" she gushed. "That'll be the perfect place to hide the Emerald Fern... I can't wait until we tell Lord Sunpower..."

* * *

Several hours later, all the subjects of Sunpower had left the tribe in search of the Emerald Fern, which location they had been lied to about. **Never mind, a whole pack of stupid minions.** There were too many for Twilightshadow to fight, unfortunately, but as soon as the fiends left their sights...

Twilightshadow gasped as an old gray mottled tom pushed a small green jewel to her paws. "But... why are you giving it to me?" she asked, perplexed.

The tom smiled, turning his head towards the mountains where the Sunpower subjects were now heading. "Farewell," he pronounced in a painstaking tone. Before Twilightshadow could smile back at him, a voice said in her head, _it is time to go._

Before her vision faded totally into black, though, she felt something tugging at her hind leg.


	18. Curses and Hot Coals

**I was having a hard time deciding which gem Twilightshadow should go after next :3 Besides, I have math homework that isn't showing up and then I emailed my math teacher and then printed out this thing for Literature Circles for a classic.**

 **Now that I'm done giving people-that-aren't-me information about me, let's just get going with the chapter already.**

* * *

Chapter 17

"Let go of me!" Twilightshadow screeched, trying desperately to shake off whoever it was that was trying to hold on so tightly to her- but before she could do anything more, light flashed in front of her vision and she then she saw no more-

Until she landed in a beautiful sandy beach in front of a few palm trees, surrounded by sea in three directions and her legs splayed out in four... Quickly remembering the cat that had clung to her, she spun around, staring at a tiny white trembling tomkit huddled up by her side.

Twilightshadow was not expecting this, and so almost spluttered in her surprise. "But- you're just a kit?" she stared. "Then... how have you come to be here...?"

"My name is Cloudedkit," he whispered timidly. "I've been raised up in the Vanquishers, the group of elite cats whom the evil lord Sunpower has control over and whom would die for him... no!" Cloudedkit burst out. "I will not call him lord any longer, I shall not, I cannot..."

Twilightshadow almost choked at the sight of him. This was what the world had come to? Helpless kits being raised in a barbaric society like the Vanquishers? "I shall help you in any way I possibly can!" she declared. "But why did you come with me, oh little kit?"

"Because..." Cloudedkit began sobbing. "Because I couldn't stand it anymore! I didn't want to be evil anymore! Please, let me join your team... and please don't hurt me!" he added at the end as a side note. "Please... I just want to do good for all..."

Twilightshadow's face softened. "Of course," she whispered. "Now..." She straightened up. "I will not hurt you. Please, if you will, be at my side. I do need another set of paws to help me with things." Looking out over the horizon, she added, "I wonder where we're supposed to find the next gem now..."

Cloudedkit began thinking. "There must be a clan around here somewhere or something," he finally pondered out. "This is a beach, and beyond is the great, great, sea. I suppose we must find the Diamond Pearl somewhere around here?"

"Good thinking!" Twilightshadow beamed. "So... off we go!"

* * *

Soon, they came within sight of a scattered piece of squirrel, with a half-bitten-off tail and a rotten smell around it like it had been already abandoned for a long time. Twilightshadow wrinkled her nose. "Crow-food," she commented with disgust. "No decent clan cat would leave fresh-kill out here, alone..."

"Or maybe a traveler ate it and just left it because he or she wasn't hungry?" Cloudedkit suggested, which was actually exactly what Twilightshadow was thinking at the moment. "Now... perhaps we should go see if we can find any trace of cats or a clan in general!"

So, they both set off once again. The sun was starting to set over the horizon, and Twilightshadow could hardly stop herself from stopping to gaze at the beautiful, serene colors of orange, pink, and gold. "I wonder how much further we must go," she murmured.

However, soon, they scented something else.

"It smells foul," Cloudedkit commented, sniffing the air with great distaste. Twilightshadow was now, more or less, having the exact same experience, but as she was a full-grown warrior assassin queen and Cloudedkit was only... well, a kit, she could pick out things that he couldn't. "It's a rat," she finally concluded.

"Lots of rats." Twilightshadow snorted. "I wonder if they gave the clan cats some trouble..." Suddenly, her grin faded. "Or. Or, it may have costed them _real_ trouble..." Sniffing around the scene for a while longer, she suddenly froze, rigid. "There is cat scent, too. It smells of the sea. Maybe... clan cats."

"It is clan cats," Cloudedkit confirmed. "Many mingled scents make me more certain. So... where did they all go?" He sighed. "I feel like this is getting kind of hopeless, my lady... all those scents and we don't know what they mean..."

Twilightshadow brought her head up in the air. "Then we'll just have to keep searching."

* * *

Slowly, the beach started to give way to water, then more water, then more and more until there was no sand left at all, just sea in all directions that Twilightshadow and Cloudedkit could see- except for the way back. "We've searched all this way and still nothing," Cloudedkit whined.

Twilightshadow stiffened. "Hold on. I think... that perhaps, we need to go deeper." Ignoring Cloudedkit's confused expression, she stepped closer to the water. The waves started washing over her paws, swishing around and around until she almost felt dizzy.

Then, without another glance back, she began padding in deeper and deeper until her head could almost no longer be seen on the shore. Cloudedkit was getting increasingly worried. "Please, my lady!" he cried out. "If a sudden wave catches you off balance..."

He didn't want to think about what would happen then. Perhaps he would have to go back to the Vanquishers to serve as a mere extra set of paws...?

Suddenly, water rushed over Twilightshadow's head and she was completely gone. "My lady!" Cloudedkit screeched one last time in desperation. But somewhere down below, the great warrior assassin queen had seen something. Just a little deeper and she would find it...

Her paws touched something bright burning hot, even though she was several tail-lengths below sea level, and struggling not to scream, she pulled her precious paws back up, kicking and churning at the water desperately to get to the surface, see the light, breathe the fresh, clean air before her lungs burst...

Cloudedkit was so relieved upon seeing Twilightshadow alive and well that he almost squealed with excitement at the sight of her. "Thank you for coming back without leaving me," he breathed.

* * *

Having no other choice, they decided to go deeper into the mainland, where a small forest resided. There were familiar oak and birch trees, of course, but there were also many varieties of pines and spruces. "I wonder what we might find later on," Twilightshadow muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, the pair burst out into a huge clearing, where they could begin to smell the mingled scents of many cats, both she-cats and toms alike... but, to their surprise, they could not see anyone. "Hello?" Cloudedkit called out, curious but also slightly frightened. "I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, screeches and the sound of claws ripping into pelts resounded in the air- but there were still no cats to be seen, and the sounds were so close by that... Twilightshadow frowned. "I think the cats are invisible," she whispered.

Cloudedkit looked back at her in horror. "That must be some kind of curse or something," he replied. "I don't think they can even see each other!" Suddenly, his face lit up. "I remember now! I think the Pearl Diamond is some kind of magical substance that can restore peace and undo curses or something...?"

"Then we must go get it!" Twilightshadow exclaimed excitedly, when her face suddenly fell. "The problem is, you see..."

* * *

She began to describe to Cloudedkit in great detail what had happened when she tried to descend further into the water. "There must be something down there, but it's preventing me from getting it," she huffed, arriving at the water's edge. "Can you try it with me? Just... be careful..."

Cloudedkit knew what he was getting himself into, but he just swallowed, imagining that his fears went down with his saliva, and nodded numbly. "Sure."

This time, when they descended, Twilightshadow reached out with a paw, expecting to find the smooth surface of a diamond- but the same thing happened, and she nearly yelped with pain. "Maybe if we think about our purpose," she mouthed. Then, concentrating hard, she reached in once more-

It almost went through for a moment, and her heart was leaping, when suddenly, she felt like burning hot coals were surrounding her paw and clutching it tight- pulling it back again, panting, she turned to Cloudedkit, her eyes blurring from too much water inside. "Try together," she mouthed in desperation.

Cloudedkit nodded, and together, with their last breaths, they thrust their paws deep into the water, thinking about all the good they would be doing the cats back in the clearing, thinking about the good they would bring to the world-

Twilightshadow felt something hot on her paw, and her heart nearly climbed into her throat for a moment- had they failed yet again- but as she readjusted her position, she realized that it was not heat she was feeling- but cold. This time, there was no voice in her head, no reassuring message from Moonsong-

The moment she touched the pearl-shaped diamond-

The moment she touched it with Cloudedkit, together-

The world faded away-

Blackness surrounded everything like a dark shroud of mist-

She could feel Cloudedkit somewhere beside her-

and then-


	19. Unrelenting Darkness and Moonlight

**If you are reading this, then I recommend that you read my other stories. *watches audience scatter* Not that I _need_ more attention towards my other stories (I think I'm actually pretty well off), but I still like more reviews!  Oh, and review on this chapter, too.**

 **This means you. "Oh, but one more review would not make a difference..." It will. I read every review I get slowly to savor it.**

* * *

Chapter 18

"Ohh!" Twilightshadow gasped as the darkness consumed her vision, but as she waited for herself and Cloudedkit to be transported to the next world, she found that the blackness would not let go of her eyes, no matter how long she waited. "What's going on?" she wondered aloud.

Soon, when it became clear that the darkness would not go away, she took action. "StarClan?" she guessed. "Have you come to give me a new message, perhaps?" However, there was no answer, only... an echo? "I must be in a cave somewhere," she contemplated. "But where _is_ Cloudedkit...?"

Suddenly, a giant hole appeared in top of the ceiling. Twilightshadow was not sure of what was happening, for her eyes took some time to adjust to the sudden moonlight that beamed down onto her- and the stone floor. "Now, at least, I have light for finding the Obsidian Rock," she mused.

Something fell from the hole and landed on the floor with a heavy thud. Twilightshadow stiffened for a moment, seeing as it was a dark object, even darker than the ground that it was on. "Huh?" she questioned as she walked closer to touch muzzles with the stone. Had it been that easy?

There were many whispers around her... ancient whispers, voices that had been lost to time for long... stop it, she told herself, stop dreaming... this is reality... oh, where was Cloudedkit, how she wished she could find him now...

Just as her nose touched the shockingly cold surface of the Obsidian Rock, Twilightshadow felt blinding pain seize her. Then, it was all gone. _Everything._

* * *

 **If you're going like: 'woah, Storm, that's deep' right now, which I really highly doubt, then I have to burst your bubble and say that the inspiration from this chapter came from being lazy *shrugs***

 **1\. Where did Cloudedkit go?**

 **2\. What exactly happened at the end?**


	20. Plains and Fading

**Can you believe that there's only six gems left until the finale, when Twilightshadow finally... does stuff? :3**

* * *

Chapter 19

Twilightshadow blinked. This place was nowhere like the cave where she had been just a few moments ago. It was just so sunny, and there was the smell of heather and grass and so much sunshine all over the place... "Oh wow," she murmured.

Did the sacred Earthstone really lie here? she thought. If it did, then... she shivered. How was she ever going to find a tiny patch of hard soil, shaped like a round pebble and shining with a special essence, in the middle of this huge expanse of space?

Not knowing where to begin, Twilightshadow began her journey across the flat plains. There was a hole over there... a small mound of dirt over there... Twilightshadow did not check any of these places. Surely it would be hidden in a far more dignified place?

Suddenly, a voice sang out in her mind... "My dear child," Moonsong murmured, "do not panic, for StarClan is with you every step of the way..." Feeling the power of her warrior ancestors relieve her warrior assassin queen soul, Twilightshadow sighed deeply.

"I understand," she whispered, "but how, oh how, am I supposed to find such an artifact as the Earthstone? It is so lonely and bleary here... no groups of tribes like we saw in the last few quests and everything..." Suddenly, her mind cleared, and she added, in a harder voice in time: "Where is Cloudedkit?"

"If we knew where he was," Moonsong sighed, "then we would have told you already." Seeing Twilightshadow's fallen face, she added, "However, we, as StarClan, do know that he is currently captured by the minions of Sunpower. We do not know where, exactly, though..."

Twilightshadow frowned. "Then what's the point of telling me this?"

Moonsong chuckled slightly inside the might warrior assassin queen's mind. "I will now lead you to the Earthstone... for even if my power is fading away fast, I will not leave you alone to do this task. Come on."

* * *

The next few hours were the most excruciating hours of Twilightshadow's life. Under the full glare of the hot greenleaf sun, it was hot enough to make her paws feel as if they were being scorched by red-hot coals all over again. To make it even worse, she was getting hungrier and thirstier.

There was no prey or water in sight, either. But Moonsong just kept leading her on. "I'm sure it must be somewhere..." she murmured. "Somewhere."

Twilightshadow knew that there was a question that she needed to ask the wise old spirit she-cat about; but she just couldn't remember what. She had no more information about Cloudedkit, she knew where she was leading Twilightshadow... well, she hoped, anyway. So what was bothering her so much?

Twilightshadow hardly noticed as Moonsong gave a little triumphant 'aha' inside her head. "Well done getting through the Scorch Plains," she complimented. "The Earthstone is right there..." Despite her cheery tone, there was something offbeat about it. "Just over by that patch of wildflowers..."

Sure enough, as Twilightshadow bent down to paw around at the clump of withered daisies, she felt something hard among the soft leaves and petals. "This is it!" she exclaimed, feeling the smooth surface of the Earthstone. "Take me to the next world!"

Moonsong did not respond, even though Twilightshadow's vision was turning dark again, as it always did when she transported from one place to another. "Moonsong!" she cried out, now realizing what was happening. "Moonsong! Please don't fade away! Please, keep strong!"

But it was already too late. When Twilightshadow could see nothing more but darkness, she realized with a start that she had forgotten to ask Moonsong why the Obsidian Rock had simply dropped through a moonlit hole in the ceiling of a cave.

* * *

 **Hm... I wonder too... not really.**


	21. Deserts and Scorpions

**I was almost paper-mache-ing the whole weekend, so sorry for the late update! (Normal-rated update, in technical terms, but I sped up the update rate, so.) *pops entire orange into mouth***

* * *

Chapter 20

Sand. Scorching sun. The only thing that Twilightshadow could see was miles upon miles of... baking earth... she blinked. Sudden, new fears gripped her throat and refused to let go. What if in Moonsong's fading, her power wasn't enough to get Twilightshadow to the next world?

Would she be stuck in that plain of isolation forever? How would she get to the _next_ world, then, either? "Oh, no!" Twilightshadow cried out in a brief panic.

But as she glanced around her, she realized that it wasn't the same as before- instead of acres and acres of sun-baked soil, there was now sand- and only sand. Twilightshadow gasped. She was standing upon a tall sand dune. She must be in a desert somewhere!

"How are we supposed to find the Sand Shell in all this?" Twilightshadow wondered out loud. Because this time, she didn't even have the guidance of StarClan to help her collect the precious gem that was supposed to be able to defeat Sunpower and his minions.

* * *

Twilightshadow wasn't sure how long she walked for when she finally had to stop for a rest. She was feeling nauseous, and she was pretty sure that she was going to get heatstroke soon if she didn't get some shade and water. Twilightshadow, the mighty warrior assassin queen, had finally had enough.

"Stop sending us off on pointless quests to find some gem that's hidden somewhere in a gigantic desert!" Twilightshadow screeched, in a moment of weakness. "I... I..." her eyes bulged out. "Oh, no, Please don't punish me!"

Twilightshadow saw something small creep out from the shadow of the boulder that she was sitting on. "Scorpion!" she gasped, unsheathing her claws but knowing it would do little against poison- if this scorpion was poisonous. It seemed to be coming straight for her-

Not knowing fully what she was doing, she reached out a hind paw and brought it down, hard, on the scorpion's hard shell. Unexpectedly, instead of stinging back, it collapsed upon the ground almost immediately, orange liquid oozing out of its wounds. "Eew," Twilightshadow hissed.

It was several moments before the world started to spin again before her eyes- and she realized that it _was_ the Sand Shell. "But why waste a poor scorpion's life in exchange for it?" Twilightshadow wanted to ask, but suddenly, a small, growling voice spoke out in her mind-

 _Sometimes, you must kill in order to get what you want._

"Nooo!" Twilightshadow protested, not even in the mood to celebrate the fact that she could still transport to other worlds within touch of the magical object- and not by will of Moonsong. She was still thinking-


	22. Twolegs and Tricks

**Here- *thrusts chapter at you* have this! Relieve my burdens.**

* * *

Chapter 21

Twilightshadow almost coughed at the sight of her first destination- she had seen this place somewhere before, but when? It was so familiar, but so scary to other members of both her clan and the other. "Twolegplace!" she hissed, disgusted. "Of course this will be where the Bronze Brick is hidden."

She padded on for a while before, suddenly, she came to a halt. There was a Thunderpath in front of her, a wide, straight one, and many monsters were rushing along on top of it. Twilightshadow sighed. She guessed she would have to cross it, then...

Twilightshadow gasped. In the brief gap between each monster's crossing, she saw a flash of black-and-white- and perhaps even a tail? There was a small kitten on the Thunderpath! Before she could think of what to do, however, the last monster sped past and, knowing that she would never have another chance like it...

Twilightshadow bolted for the opposite end, hating herself, and came to the other side just as another one whooshed past her ear and another stream of never-ending monsters continued running on.

She looked back. There was no sign of the kit that had once been sitting there on her own, just sitting there, not even attempting to move away from the danger... Twilightshadow gulped. The world seemed to slow around her. She shouldn't have. She shouldn't have just ran across herself...

"Give me another chance, StarClan!" Twilightshadow shouted, and soon, instead of her vision fading to darkness, it lightened until all she could see was white-

* * *

Twilightshadow blinked. She was at that moment in time again, when she had been trying to decide what to do. But this time, she knew what she had to do. Seeing the monster that had nearly crushed her before coming again, she sped across the pavement quickly, across the foul-smelling ground, to where...

Twilightshadow pushed the kit, which was surprisingly light, across the Thunderpath so that it landed on the sidewalk with... a muffled nothingness. Twilightshadow stared. It wasn't a real kit. It wasn't even dead, or alive. It was... Twoleg-made... artificial... fake...

But clutched in its paws, was a peculiar shining something. The might warrior assassin queen touched it gently, and then, like a miracle, she knew that her quest for the Bronze Brick was ending- and a new one was beginning.


	23. Lightning and Thunder

***is slightly annoyed at the lack of reviews in the last chapter* Oh well. Just review more on this chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 22

Before Twilightshadow could gasp, her paws landed on cold, hard rock and she breathed in a thin air that hardly filled up her lungs. "This must be high in the mountains!" Twilightshadow thought, still worried about Cloudedkit. What had happened to that brave, energetic little kit, she did not know...

Suddenly, a cold and menacing laughter rang out from the top of the mountain peak- "ha ha ha!" a voice boomed out. "I have got your little traitor Cloudedkit, and, oh so mighty warrior assassin queen, you aren't so mighty now, aren't you?"

Twilightshadow's blood began to boil. "How dare you?" she cried out, her voice echoing mightily off the stone walls and all the way down to the canyons and valleys below. "I will come and rescue my Cloudedkit, and claim my Golden Lightningbolt once and for all!"

"Do you really think it will be that easy?" the tom challenged, his voice now dripping with evil. "I will give back your little Cloudedkit if you will give to us the Golden Lightningbolt. Is it a deal?"

Twilightshadow growled. "Of course not. I would never do anything that would endanger the world, even for the sake of a best friend!" **Girl, you've known him for a day. *hairflip hairflip hairflip for no apparent reason***

"Oh, you would!" the tom mocked, "for my name is Starfire, the starter of the Club of Evil!" **Does anyone recognize the Maradonia reference?** "I know where the Golden Lightningbolt is, but unfortunately... we cannot get to it. Help us get it! Or else your friend suffers."

Starfire put a claw onto Cloudedkit's neck, and gestured towards a boulder in front of him, which was sitting in plain sight to Twilightshadow. "Something is under there, something powerful, but we cannot get to it. Help us, or else Cloudedkit dies."

Twilightshadow gasped, running forward to try to lift the stone. Like on cue, it suddenly lifted up into the air and floated above the earth for a few moments before crashing back down- onto Starfire. He tried to scream, but it was muffled by rock. Cloudedkit quickly scrambled out of the way.

Twilightshadow peeked inside the hole that the boulder had once occupied.

There was nothing.

Feeling like she was about to burst, suddenly, a streak of lightning rushed down from the top of the sky to the ends of the earth, filling Twillightshadow's vision with white and mild yellow. Cloudedkit hung on to her, and as they teleported to the next world, Twilightshadow thought-

 _The Golden Lightningbolt was the actual lightning. It may not appear to be a physical power, but now it's always there for me whenever I need it._


	24. Sacrifice and Falling

**There's only two gems left to find! Go, Twilightshadow! I can't believe it :3 This time, it's for sugilite. If you don't know what that is, it's a purple gem, also known as lavulite, royal azel, cybeline, and wesselite... I guess? I-don't-care.**

* * *

Chapter 23

She was flying through the air... there was a rush of wind past her fur, sunshine dappling her back, warmth soothing every inch of her body... no, she couldn't be flying... but the Hollow Glass was in the air, after all... but how had StarClan managed to give her flying powers...?

She couldn't see Cloudedkit anywhere, but when she swiveled her head around in a panic, there he was, rushing through the air beside her... she didn't know where they were going, but it couldn't be far from here now...

She felt a brief panic, which subsided as soon as she caught view of the purple flash among the clouds again... could it have been what she was looking for...? But the sky was starting to turn dark, and the sun was already gone... there would be a storm soon, she had to get to the Hollow Glass...

She knew she looked stupid, but she began paddling forward with the strength of all her four limbs as if she was swimming... she sensed Cloudedkit right behind her, so she wasn't too worried... Stay here, she told him, and without waiting for an answer, she kept going...

She was almost within reach of it now... but small raindrops had started to fall from the sky... the clouds had turned dark, and something rumbled in the distant horizon... but she could see the Hollow Glass clearly now, it was a triangular-prism-shaped object, made of glass and hollow in the middle... wings at its sides-

She heard another crack of thunder, and knew that this time, it was getting closer to her... StarClan, help me, she prayed, and reached out her head as far as her neck would allow, straining to take the slippery object in her mouth... her tooth grazed the edge, lightning flashed again...

She got it! Clutching it tight in her mouth so that it wouldn't escape, she looked around. Cloudedkit! she called out, but no one responded, and it then that she saw the small figure plummeting to his death, it might have been a bird, it might have been a mouse, it might have been a speck of dust, but it was her one love, her one hope, her one companion-

* * *

Twilightshadow woke up on a polished, smooth marble floor, gasping for air. She knew that the Hollow Glass was in her mouth a moment ago, but when she looked around, nothing stood out to her except a lump of gray fur tossed against the ground.

* * *

 **Sorry for not making this chapter as cheesy as it should be! But it was nice to be a little more typical-me for a change.**


	25. Palaces and Sunpower's New Mate

**This is the post-finale! The chapter before the finale! I'm actually not sure whether there's going to be a Chapter 26 or not, but we'll just have to see how it all plays out... the next chapter is going to be long, though. That's for sure.**

* * *

Chapter 24

Twilightshadow didn't know what happened in the next few moments. The only thing she was aware of was running to Cloudedkit's mangled body, rubbing her muzzle into his side so many times that it hurt, tears running down her cheeks and soaking his fur, but still, he would not respond to her.

"Cloudedkit," she sobbed, burying her face into his side. It still felt warm, and she could almost imagine him coming to life right now, his eyes gleaming in the sunlight that shone in from the windows all around, assuring her that it was all just a joke. But nothing happened of the sort.

"I am so sorry," Twilightshadow whispered. "For everything. I loved you, but the price I had to pay was just too much." She took a deep breath. "Moonsong! I hate you! I never should have gotten the Hollow Glass with the tiny shard of sugilite inside it, I should have stayed back with Cloudedkit or at least..."

Suddenly, a loud, booming, cruel laughter resounded from behind her. "I never expected to see you here so early," it mocked. "Sunpower would be pleased to find this scene. Oh, and what's this?" It was a she-cat. "I see; your friend has fallen. _Fallen! Ha ha!_ Isn't that just hilarious?"

Twilightshadow spun around. "May I ask," she replied, struggling to keep her calm, "what is your name?"

The she-cat stared at her for a moment as if not sure that she actually existed, then laughed out loud again. "I am none other than Sunpower's new loyal mate, Shadowbladeheart; after he dumped that pitiful Moonsong, he began loving me! The most evil couple in existence!"

Twilightshadow glared up at her. "This is Sunpower's palace, isn't it?" she asked. "Not the most impressive I've seen. Too little ground area, the walls are obsidian and unappealing **darling, beauty is different to every cat** , and there are too many tiny windows. But how have I come here? The Silver-"

"The Silver Wisp, yes," Shadowbladeheart interrupted. "If you are thinking that it lies somewhere in the palace, then you are correct. **Telling your enemies how to defeat you.** But I won't let you get there!"

She laughed, the sound shaking the castle to its roots. "Let the battle begin! I imagine that Sunpower will be very pleased to see your mangled corpse later on!"


	26. Death by Seaweed

**Since I write author's notes before I begin the actual chapter, I'm not sure if this will be the finale or not. Even if it is, then there still will be an epilogue! Then, I get to begin the third book of DotS! If you don't read it, check it out then.**

* * *

Chapter 25

Shadowbladeheart unsheathed her claws. Twilightshadow's heart pounded in her chest with a wild beat. The final battle for the Silver Wisp had begun! Pouncing at her enemy, Shadowbladeheart reared up on two hind legs to claw at Twilightshadow's head. She ducked, swiping at her stomach.

Hissing with pain as blood began to ooze from a wound on her side, Shadowbladeheart tried again, this time coiling up her hind legs and crouching with her eyes fixed on Twilightshadow's shoulders. The mighty warrior assassin queen knew this trick all too well. So when Shadowbladeheart pounced...

Twilightshadow waited until she could see clearly where she was aiming before she jumped up into the air, avoiding her enemy's jaws clamping at the empty air where she had been just a few moments ago. "I'd suggest you do much better than that if you actually want to win!" she mocked.

Shadowbladeheart whimpered as Twilightshadow landed on top of her, claws digging into her back and new scratches appearing everywhere. "I'll let you go!" she cried. "Go get the Silver Wisp. I don't care. Just... let me go..."

Twilightshadow hesitated, but she finally hopped down from Shadowbladeheart's back and watched as she slumped to the ground, eyes closed. She knew that she had to get the final Silver Wisp now, before something else bad happened to it, so she began running on through the halls.

Suddenly, a shadow swooped by above her. Twilightshadow stopped.

She looked up. Nothing was there.

She looked ahead of her again, and what she saw made her heart stop.

"Sunpower," she whispered. "I see that you must interfere."

"I must," he replied, his black wings spread out on both sides of him.

Twilightshadow growled somewhere deep in her throat, lashing out with a paw. Sunpower didn't even try to dodge. Before she could think this over, though, the claws simply bounced off of his pelt as if it were made up of rubber. "How?" she hissed.

"I have the power of darkness and evil behind me!" Sunpower laughed. "Nothing but the power of love can destroy me, and only dear Moonsong can summon that kind of power!"

Twilightshadow stared at him. "So you fiend-"

Before she could even finish her statement, Sunpower lunged at him with his front legs outstretched and his claws fully unsheathed. Twilightshadow almost felt like screaming internally, but she was so surprised that she hardly had time to react as he pinned her down, blood dripping down the corners of his mouth.

"I will kill you," he whispered, as Twilightshadow struggled under his weight, "and then I will rule the world of warriors forever!" **No, Erin Hunter does that.** Sunpower began cackling hysterically, placing a paw over her throat and digging his claws deeper and deeper in-

 _"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ! ! ! !"_ Twilightshadow screeched, then suddenly feeling the power of love rush over her. **Uh.** Suddenly, a rainbow erupted from just behind her head, small at first but then growing in size until it streaked towards Sunpower-

He screamed in terror, but the rainbow seemed to consume him whole. "Don't take my invincibility away! Please! I'm begging you!"

Twilightshadow paused, standing up.

Then, she took action.

Flames erupted in a ring around Sunpower. Vines made cracks in the floor and wrapped themselves around him. Bits of seaweed clumped his face. "I can't see!" he screamed. Mud and bricks appeared out of nowhere and began falling onto him. Sand got into his eyes. Lightning flashed all around, and a large breeze had picked up that had grown into a roaring whirlwind. Still, the fire did not die out.

The power of the elements! Twilightshadow realized.

Then, suddenly...

Sunpower stopped moving altogether.

The flames, vines, seaweed, **death by seaweed** mud, bricks, sand, lightning, and the wind disappeared.

Something caught the edge of Twilightshadow's eye.

It was a small wisp of what seemed like smoke, shining silver and floating up from Sunpower's body before disappearing in a bright flash.

The Silver Wisp was Sunpower's soul. Twilightshadow had done it. Now peace would be restored.

* * *

 **There will be an epilogue! Please stay tuned!**


	27. Epilogue

**This is the last chapter of this story! I can't believe we've come so far! Thank you all.**

* * *

Epilogue

Twilightshadow suddenly felt the presence of someone beside her. The scent was familiar somehow, even though she'd never even technically smelled it, but it was pleasant and brought back good memories of when she was just a little kit...

"Moonsong!" she exclaimed. Sure enough, the spirit's shimmering form began appearing in front of her. "I'm proud of you, Twilightshadow," she rumbled. "I know you've come here from far and wide, and have grown to start caring for others- I'm sure poor Twigmuzzle is going to agree..."

She spun around. "My old friend!" she squealed. Twigmuzzle looked overwhelmed as Twilightshadow sped forward and knocked her down onto the ground, as if pinning her to the ground. "I've missed you so much! But..." she suddenly looked up.

Moonsong smiled. "I know what you are asking for," she whispered, turning to Cloudedkit. "Since you have accomplished much, I will bring him back to life again. Fierystar has now been dispatched from DawnClan, and now..."

Twilightshadow widened her eyes.

"I'm sure you will be surprised to hear this, Twilightshadow, but you will be the next leader of DawnClan."

"But I'm not even deputy-"

Cloudedkit began to stir beside her.

"I know," Moonsong said, stepping forward. "But you deserved it." **No explanations.**

Suddenly, from all around them, a clamor of voices rose above the silence: "Twilightstar! Twilightstar!" Twilightstar smiled, pushing herself closer to Cloudedkit. "I will make you Cloudedstream, my deputy, for all you've done for me," she whispered.

Outside, the sun was going down, setting golden rays over the palace.

* * *

 **Happy ending for all! This is the third time in all my 25 stories that I've done a happy ending. Cheers! (One was an intended Mary-Sue story, and another one was a gift for a friend.) CloudedTwilight forever!**


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